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tv   MSNBC Live  MSNBC  January 11, 2013 11:00am-12:00pm EST

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i think there's a very different view as to what the problem is and how to solve it. vice president biden who is expected to put out proposals early next week will wrap up several meetings with a sit-down with reps from the video gaming industry and the focused on yesterday's face to face. we were disappointed with how little this meeting has to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the second amendment, biden trying to shut it down. >> i think we can do a great deal without in any way imposing on or i am pinging on the rights of the second amendment. >> what is the real strategy behind the invitation to the nra? a headline reports the administration is trying an end run around the gun lobby. will the task force do little else than help the white house's end game and hurt the nra brand?
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>> if you're a survivalist and you believe the federal government is coming to kill you and your children, if that's your view, your paranoid sick twisted view, fine, good luck continuing to get the republicans to jump in your pickup truck and drive off the cliff towards political oblivion. >> it doesn't appear the movie and gaming industries are as well. we'll know more after today's meetings. joining me is attorney general bo biden. as we talk about what happened yesterday with the nra meeting with the vice president at the white house, the first time the nra is invited in two decades. does this legitimize the nra is being that powerful in washington, d.c.? >> i think what -- and i speak as attorney for the state of delaware not the administration,
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you see a task force led by the vice president, my father, to try to meet with all of the stake holders, whether they be victims, whether they be sportsmen, which my father and nra and met with professionals and mental health issues, bringing all of the stake holders coming together to deal with an approach with a terrible issue facing our country. that's where the latest administration has brought in all of the stake holders and coming up with a comprehensive approach that makes sense. and that's what you saw yesterday and last night and days before. >> one thing though, beau, nra saying they feel disappointed that this is more about taking guns away from people than it was about protecting children. however, the vice president has spoken out about the different options that are on the table. the language here is very interesting. i want to play it for everybody. >> there's a surprising so far,
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a surprising recurrence of suggestions that we have universal background checks. there's also a good deal of talk about gun safety and what responsibility goes along with gun ownership. i've never quite heard as much talk about the need to do something about high capacity magazines as i've heard spontaneously from every group that we've met with so far. >> the language there, high capacity magazines, not hearing anything about assault weapons, but about the magazines themselves. is this the type of language that we should xmekt especially since as we all know the assault weapons ban ended in 2004, dianne feinstein has a bill to bring that back but it has very little life to it. will it be incremental policy steps from a legal standpoint that you think could have
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success? >> well, i don't know. i look forward as attorney general to see what the task force comes up with. i know what we're doing here in the state of delaware. the dwof governor and i will lead an effort to lead an assault weapons ban for the state of delaware and universal background check and couple of other things we'll be announcing with the governor on monday. i look forward to the vice president's announcement and administration's announcement on what they are going to do. it's consistent with what i hear from citizens of the state of delaware and around my travels that the universal background check, i have not met a american that opposes it. closing the gun show loophole, quote, unquote. making sure that anyone who purchases a firearm regardless of where they are purchase it has to go through a background check to make sure they are not in one of eight categories of people under state laws from possessing a firearm, the two most important of which are
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people that have been incapacitated or add jude indicated mental ll lly ill or convicted felons. >> the nra and stats they are claiming 4.2 million members, and membership surging after 100,000. they spent 17.4 million in the 2012 elections and annual budget of $250 million. they would say after newtown, that all of this talk about any type of gun control has done nothing about be a big gun commercial to encourage people to join the nra and go gun shopping. mean while, the other component is the fact that the vice president is talking with hollywood and talking with the video game industry. there was a interesting reaction from quentin tearantino. >> why are you so sure there's
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no link between enjoying movie violence and enjoying real violence? >> i'm going to continue to way i'm not sure -- i'm not biting. i refuse your question. >> the vice president is talking to people in the movie industry today about violence -- >> you know where i stand on it. >> which is there's no relationship? >> yes. >> you haven't said why you think that -- >> it's none of your damned business. >> "django" unchained is the movie out right now. there's a chemistry experiment of where there is responsibility from video games from the movies and nra would say so. do you think they need to be not just a friend so what the vice president is doing with the gun task force but isn't it most important they not be an enemy? >> the representative of the motion picture industry is a good friend and great senator, former senator chris dodd, who i
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know met with the folks at the white house last night. i think they are going to have a productive conversation about ways -- i hope they are, and confident that the senator proposed ways i hope they can contribute to making sure that they do something to the end of making sure our communities and neighborhoods and schools are safer. everything has to be on the table to be discussed in the terms of the way of culture deals with violence. the motion picture industry has a voice and stake in that and gaming industry does. a whole group of people and that's what you see there, the administration going to great lengths to include everyone who has an impact on this in the conversation. that's why i think you're going to see a comprehensive set of proposals to make our schools and our streets and neighborhood safer from gun violence. the nra, on the other hand, i have not heard one new proposal from them. they think the status quo is the way to proceed. a lot of the discussion from
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them about arming teachers. we have school resource officers in the state of delaware. uniformed police officers in 43 of them throughout our state. they are armed. but they are trained law enforcement officers. i've not heard many new or sensible ideas from the nra, but they at least have a voice in what contributing -- what their contribution is to try to make our schools and communities safer. i've not heard new ideas from them. >> beau, a lot of articles based on the fact that your dads was able to helm the fiscal cliff negotiations and now taking on the gun task force to present to the president before his state of the union. a lot of people saying don't count joe biden outcome 2016? is any of that resonating to think your dad may go for it. >> he hasn't yet been sworn in as the vice president for the
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second term. i know what my dad is focused on and that's being the best vice president he can be to president barack obama and to this country. he'll make a decision about what his future holds over the next couple of years. nothing -- no decision has been made or he'll make. he's focused on what you see before him and that is making sure that we don't have another repeat of what happened, the tragedy in connecticut or colorado or in virginia. that's what he's focused on as well as obviously a whole other array of domestic and foreign policy issues. but i've been very proud of him. he's been very effective and it's a very effective partnership between he and the president of the united states. >> we'll see what he comes up with again, the deadline he wants to provide the president with options is by tuesday. delaware attorney general beau biden. thanks, sir. >> thanks, thomas. >> we'll bring our political power panel, bacon and joe
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sestak and ms nbc contributor. perry, i want to start with you and based on what i was able to maybe get out of beau a little bit, more like the matix avoiding that conversation. he was able to help facilitate the fiscal cliff negotiations and joe biden is the only closer that the white house has right now as said by the national journal. as beau points out he hasn't been sworn in to the second administration, but how important is joe biden? >> he's become very important. we all mock him because he's occasionally has his foot in his mouth or says the wrong thing. on these deal, particularly with congress, he knows a lot of people and worked on gun legislation for years, a lot of experience. he's become a very valuable
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person, more than we expected when obama was inaugurated. >> and admiral sestak, i want to talk to you about the fact that the press has been covering a lot about president obama trying to put in old lions of the senate. joe biden would be considered one of those as the vice president. but chuck hagel, coal colin powell supposed to be on "meet the press" this sunday. does he have the political power to smooth the waters in washington, d.c.? chuck hagel being seen as a split from the neocon conservative leftovers. >> i do think colin powell lends credibility to the nomination of chuck hagel. but there are key senators like senator chuck schumer that will make a big difference. with regard to senator schumer, i cannot speak more highly than
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senator schumer. i was seeking the aim accusations when i was running as senator of pennsylvania in 2010. senator schumer called me and came in to philadelphia and met with the jewish literee leaders having understood having been in the military, we would have laid down our lives for the defense of israel. i went to the middle east with senator hagel and heard him talk about having the strength of having america defend israel. my take on end of the day, senator schumer critically will probably do what he did once for america, defend that that is best for national security interests. i think he's going to be key and you'll see in these hearings that chuck hagel, former enlisted man for vietnam will get this nomination because of what he will do for america's security. >> based on what admiral sestak
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just said, politico is reporting saying if schumer would oppose hagel it would amount to a fatal blow to his candidacy since a number of pro-israel democrats could very well be influenced by the number three democrat's position. there is enough people trying to give hm a heisman so to speak, to his nomination, knowing that he's a republican and there are defense cuts that need to come and republicans don't like that idea. >> to go back to senator schumer for a min u it's important to rise, his constituency got hit with the largest tax increase in the country. he's taken a lot of pressure on that. now he's taking a lot of pressure from constituency on the nomination of chuck hagel. he has a lot of pressure on him to somewhat deliver for his constituency. but when it comes to the nomination, this is president obama's nomination. when you hear people like colin
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powell and others, he's qualified. republicans may not like him or may not want him, but this is the courtesy that you give to a president regardless of the party. >> and the courtesy the president is getting maybe the cabinet members he wants but a lot of people asking diversity questions when it comes to how this panel, the cabinet coming together. women in the president's cabinet, hilda solis from labor, staying kathleen is sebelius an janet napolitano. do you think that puts the president in the corner of not being able to pick the most credible, most deserved people to be in these roles? ? >> to some extent but he's going back to his comfort zone. secretary hillary clinton was a big deal not just because she was a woman but opposed him for the nomination. he was bringing in opposing
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points of view. now the president is just surrounding himself with like minded thinkers and that is what is problematic for this administration. he doesn't meet with his cabinet members regularly. he doesn't get exposure to different thoughts and ideas and that's why you see joe biden the one being the negotiator because the president has no relationships with congress or the senate. >> our power panel this friday, susan del percio and joe sestak, thanks to all three of you. when you thought it was safe for there to be at least one obama nominee, there's a new voice vowing to block jack lew, coming up we'll have an opportunity to speak with bernie sanders liberal leaning independent who says lew is wrong for america's middle tax. john boehner inviting president obama to deliver the state of the u.n. i don't address to the joint congress february the 12th. a couple of weeks away. president obama is
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meetinging with afghanistan president hamid karzai at the white house. how many u.s. troops should stay in afghanistan after 2014, if any at all. we'll talk more about that. plus, the flu, now widespread in nearly all 50 states and even if you did not get vaccinated. there's a chance you could still get sick? we'll bring you the details. the big question of you, do you think the hollywood and gaming industry will be as on stin at as the nra when it comes to finding solutions to gun violence?
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♪ ♪ hi dad. many years from now, when the subaru is theirs... hey. you missed a spot. ...i'll look back on this day and laugh. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.
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welcome back, president obama and hamid karzai have been holding high stakes meetings at the white house for over an hour now. the main topic on the agenda, the future of the u.s.'s role in afghanistan. the white house suggesting it is
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considering pulling all u.s. troops out by the end of next year. after meeting yesterday with secretary of state hillary clinton, he announced he has different expectations, 15,000 troops left in afghanistan beyond 2014. >> i can assure you mrs. secretary, that we have some -- with the help you'll provide be able to provide to the people and to protect -- >> joining me now live in our nbc studio, mim magazine director, we get to talk through the beauty of television most of the times. but i think a lot of people remember you conducted this exclusive interview with president karzai last month
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where he blamed the u.s. for his country's instability. based on that and what we've seen come out in the press so far in the appearances in washington, d.c., how do you think the meeting are going behind closed doors rights now? >> it should be interesting because president karzai has his own expectations and the american government has their own expectations. when i speak to afghan officials in afghanistan, they have a different sense of what's going on. in fact, one of karzai staffers was reported to say that america needs us more than we need them. in a sense from america's point of view that's a bit delusional. but the afghans themselves, they think they have the upper hand. they think america wants to be in afghanistan because of the bordering countries, including iran and pakistan. so right now it would be interesting to see what exactly is being discussed. at the most as we both now, america wants to leave afghanistan for the most part but the afghans feel america
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needs to stay. >> after president karzai met with different members of the senate yesterday, he was asked a very interesting question. but the lack of answer is the most telling. take a look. >> what kind of force would you like to see left in your country? >> thank you, everybody. >> i was told by the organizer of the senate to keep quiet after this one. >> thank you, everybody. >> told by the organizer to keep quiet on that and get a pat on the arm there by mitch mcconnell. proposed keeping 15,000 troops in afghanistan. the president hasn't made it clear exactly where the numbers are going to be. do you expect there could be a full withdrawal and won't be any type of -- left behind as atia is reporting. >> i don't think so.
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i think the zero option is a diplomatic bluff if you like, setting up the negotiations that are taking place right now as we speak, i think the president is aware, administration is aware, substantial america interest in leaving strength there that can deal with the -- to prevent the rise of international terrorism again, yes, al qaeda has its back to the wall now, but take the pressure off al qaeda, you allow afghanistan to revert to the civil war, which is almost certainly what will happen and al qaeda can come back. there's an interest in making sure that doesn't happen, having soldiers there also gives us -- gives the united states some oversight overiran's acts activities, the numbers to 15,000, the higher number of the
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scale, my suspicious is they'll come somewhere in the middle. >> any date given about any troop withdrawal, in knowing that there is a troop withdrawal coming in 2014 and we've known for some time and the possibility that some troops may remain, what is the temperature of the afghan people of even wanting that? >> you know, the afghan people right now do explain about the american and international presence, after ten years of war they don't see much achievement in their eyes. there have been girls going back to school and women back in the workplace, primarily in the cities you're seeing construction of buildings and businesses, although the afghans do complain, they feel they have to complain, but from the afghans i've spoken to primarily in the cities, they are very afraid of what's going to happen. they see a dark cloud looming but the afghans in the rural villages and place we see most of the fighting and most of the
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soldiers and taliban, they are ready for a withdrawal because they feel if the withdrawal happens, there will be less fighting. but many analysts say the fighting will continue. >> on a side note, real interesting, before we let you go, we don't get much face time with atia, we were talking about movies coming to afghanistan, zero dark thirty, whether it was seen there yet. girls going back to school. here in america we think all children need to be educated. women can't go to the movie theater in afghanistan. >> no, they can't. if they try to it would be a dangerous prospect. the men that go to the movie theaters, we have to remember afghanistan doesn't have a class that have jobs, many boys are going there and causing troubles. girls cannot go and bear by go out by themselves without being harassed. massive sexual harass.
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me ment on the streets. there are children providing for their families and treated pretty badly. >> we need to continue talking about this. thanks for being here. great to see you. as we mentioned president obama and president karzai will hold a joint news conference at 1:15 p.m. eastern time. we're going to bring it to you live right here on msnbc. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. olaf gets great rewards for his small business!
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jack knows every dollar on a page and decision we make has to be an expression of who we wish to be as a nation, our values. >> not so fast, mr. president, just when you thought it would be smooth sailing for at least one of president obama's cabinet nominees, enter jack lew, as chuck todd pointed out, he has not gotten a single no vote but
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sanders saying he will be voting no for lew. joining me now is bernie sanders, an independent from vermont. let me read to you what you wrote in a statement yesterday. this way all of our viewers can be on the same page about where you are. i remain extremely concern that all of his key economic advisers have come from wall street. in my view we need a treasury secretary prepared to stand up to corporate america and powerful lobbyists and fight for policies that protect the worker families in our country. senator sanders, why do you think jack lew and his experience on wall street is his biggest discounter for moving into treasury secretary? >> i think the problem is that wall street right now, thomas, is the most powerful entity in the united states of america. i think we need people in a variety of positions, including the secretary of the treasury, who is prepared to stand up to the incredible wealth and power.
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let me give you one example, sixth largest financial institutions in the country, $9 trillion, two-thirds the gdp of the united states of america. three out of the four largest financial institutions today are bigger than they were before we bailed them out because they were quote/unquote, too big to fail. i think what we need is a secretary of treasury who's going to say, sorry, you are too big and too powerful, we have to break you up. we have to bring more competition into the financial industry. do i think jack lew is going to be doing that? i do not. right now some of your viewers are paying 25, 28% interest rates on their credit cards. do i think jack lew is the kind of guy coming from citigroup where he worked, part of wall street, that he's going to go back to wall street and say stop ripping off consumers?
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i don't think so. >> why throw a monkey wrench into things when it comes to jack lew? he has never got a no vote before from any confirmation hearings prior? >> it's not a question of throwing the monkey wrench. of the american people will understand that wall street is the entity in this country, thomas, that has caused this terrible recession, millions of people lost their jobs and life savings. went deeply into debt. and i think we need an administration that says, excuse me, we are here to represent the american people and prepared to take on wall street, not simply bring people from wall street into the administration, which has been the case by the way, not just in the obama administration but in the bush administration and clinton administration. for example, i -- jack lew came before the budget committee a couple of years ago, and i'm a member. i said, mr. lew, give me your
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understanding of the role that wall street played in terms of deregulation and deregulation of wall street that helped cause this terrible recession? he didn't think so. most economists do think so. all of those issues concern me. jack lew is a decent guy and smart guy and knows the budget. i want people in the administration prepared to stand up for struggling working families and are prepared to deal with wall street, not simply come from wall street. >> sir, you're on record about jack lew. i want to get you on record about the breaking news that jay rockefeller announcing he's not going to seek another term come 2014. he's been a five-term senator from west virginia. what does this mean to the balance of power in the senate? >> well, i'm not an expert on the politics of west virginia. jay rockefeller has been a wonderful senator and very strong on a number of issues. he's going to be missed very, very much.
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and i hope that there will be a good candidate that can take his place. >> the new comes after shelly moore announcing that she would seek rockefeller's seat next year, republican from west virginia. at least one person throwing their hat in the ring for that. bernie sanders, thanks for joining me, i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> here's a look at some of the stories topping the news now. the centers for disease control and prevention said the flu is widespread in 47 states, up from 41. 20 children have died so far and the cdc also reporting that even though the vaccine is a good match, it only offers 55% protection against the a strain which causes the most serious disease. it offers 70% protection against the b strain which is usually less serious. the faa is saying it will team up with boeing engineers to launch a top revee of the issues plaguing the 787 dreamliners. it experienced a handful of
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mishaps. ray la hood says the planes are safe and he would fly on a 787. kate middleton said her first official portrait is amazing and it was unveiled today. woman: we're helping joplin, missouri, come back from a devastating tornado. man: and now we're helping the east coast recover from hurricane sandy. we're a leading global insurance company, based right here in america. we've repaid every dollar america lent us. everything, plus a profit of more than $22 billion. for the american people. thank you, america. helping people recover and rebuild -- that's what we do. now let's bring on tomorrow.
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you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership. today, employees around the country are cashing in their first paycheck of the new year and they are feeling the pinch. every employee in america started paying the 2% higher payroll taxes of january 1st. how much money are we talking about? you've crunched the numbers on this. a lot of people scratching their head, saying what the fica? give us the breakdown. >> i'm glad you said that and not me on live television. the payroll tax cut did die at the end of 2012 which means everyone will see a bigger tax bite out of their paychecks this year. take a look at these numbers. for a single person making $60,000 a year who is paid by
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weekly gross income is $2,307.69. subtract taxes and then look at fica, the fee that pays for social security. this person paid $96.93 in december. but now look at that same person's new paycheck in january. gross pay is the same as are the medicare and state taxes, but fica taxes go up sharply, to $143.08. that's a $46.15 hit to the wall let every two weeks. real money for tough economy. >> put on your suze orman hit. should employees adjust, file new w-4 forms to adjust the with holdings to make up this money? >> you can if you want to or adjust your lifestyle a little bit. now you're talking about not huge amounts of money here but
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lifestyle choices that we make in terms of discretionary income, lattes that you buy and trips you take and things you go to the store for. all of those little things add up. with this hit coming from most people's payroll, they want to pay attention to what they are spending and find ways to carve out little bits and pieces of savings throughout the month. >> great to see you, sir. >> thanks for having me. >> new york city subway riders get a taste of it every day. for those who don't know, there's never really a dull moment when you're underground from the teen who licked a hand railing for a dollar, to the woman who threw spaghetti in the face of another commuter. this week, video of a man who belted out queen's bohemian rhapsody. take a look. ♪ >> no one turned their head.
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oh, somebody out there's saying, now i get it! take beano before and there'll be no gas. if you get sick in america, this is what the republicans want you to do. if you get sick, america, the republican health care plan is this, die quickly. >> that was democratic congressman from florida known for his hard charging style during health care debate back in 2009. he lost his bid for a second term in the tea party wave of 2010. but now he is back re-elected in a landslide winning over 62% of the vote and ready to add his greatest hits reel on youtube. >> you get 100% of the upside and the government gets 90% of the downside, correct? >> that is what the insurance contract is designed to do. >> have you heard the phrase,
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heads i win, tails you lose? >> who got the money? >> two financial institutions in europe and other countries. >> which ones? >> i don't know. >> half a trillion dollars, you don't know who got the money? >> alan grayson joins me now. he is back and better than ever. it's good to have you here. this week you were back at it mocking the 67 house republicans who voted against disaster relief funds and called them the bath salts caucus, who would rather eat your face than cut taxes on the rich. you don't seem to have mellowed out much. which fights are you ready to pick up now? >> what's imminent is the sequester which is coming up in a couple months and the debt limit. i think the country has seen the first time the republicans took us to the debt limit cliff it was bad for everyone involved, even them. they recognize that we're paying a billion dollars interest because of the downgrading of
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the federal government's debt. that's a product of the republicans doing what they normally do, taking an issue and holding the whole country hostage. i hope we don't have to go through that again. >> mitch mcconnell already refused -- already has not ruled out shutting the government down or refused to rule it out so it leaves it open. after the recent compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff, do you think that we are going to have to be dragged to the brink and this is the way it's going to play out every time, down to the wire, down to the last minute, and not that bipartisan compromise that people are craving? >> this is completely unnecessary. these are artificial crises, but it's manufactured by the republican leadership in both the house and the senate in order to try to bring about cuts in social security, cuts in medicare and medicaid the country doesn't want and would never consider except for the crises they create. we're not talking about an earthquake or hurricane sandy.
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it's the disaster created by the republican party's agenda which is highly unpopular and wouldn't ever be considered except for the fact they keep dragging the country again and again into the cliff situations. >> they are self-imposed for sure. one thing being discussed in washington, d.c. is what can be done to curb gun violence in the country, the vice president helming the president's gun task force. they are meeting again today taking on hollywood and gaming industries. the one thing that has been discussed is potentially reestablishing the ban on assault weapons that lapsed in '04, also banning large ammunition clips and of course the increase in the federalized background checks. what do you think is the easiest thing that can be done most likely because we're going to be looking at this in incremental steps? what do you think is going to be the easiest thing to get everybody on to step one? >> there's a fundamental difference here between the two parties.
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it crosses nra lines so to speak. the difference here is this, over and over again whether you're talking about guns or talking about employment, health care, any other problem that's facing the country, what the other side wants to do is very clear. it's nothing. as i pointed out three years ago, their health care plan is don't get sick and if you do get sick, die quickly and we see the same thing true with guns in the wake of a terrible national tragedy, recurring tragedies, the answer is do nothing. they want to instill a kind of fatalism that means that we can't do anything to solve our problems. whether we're talking about guns we're talking about keeping weapons and ammunition out of the hands of bad people. now, this is a problem that society deals with all the time. we try to distinguish bad people from good people. we try to distinguish bad situations from good situations. i don't think our existing laws go far enough in doing that. i think it's obvious they are not working because they haven't prevented the disasters that
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we've seen over and over again. let's talk about what we need to do in order to hurt -- let me put it this way, punish bad people and keep bad people from doing bad things without necessarily impeding the desire of good people to do go things. nobody wants to take a shotgun out of the hands of a hunter who is using the weapon legitimately. but can we find some better way to arrange our existence, our laws as a society that does a better job in preventing bad things from happening? i think the president thinks the answer is yes. i think people who are rational think the answer is yes. the people who are irrational, don't take my guns out of my hands under any circumstances, those are people who need to rethink what it needs to be part of a civilized society. >> the vice president expected to present his findings by tuesday with recommendations. democratic congressman alan grayson. thanks for your time, great to have you on. >> thank you very much. >> we asked and you answered, do you think hollywood and gaming
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industry will be as obstinate as the nra. from michael, it all comes down to money. neither side is willing to hurt their from at brazenly liberal, if movies, video games bore any real responsibility for gun violence, it would be happening more in other countries. so keep the comments coming in. you can find us on twitter and facebook. need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. we create easy-to-use, powerful trading tools for all. look at these streaming charts! they're totally customizable
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>> will illinois become the next state to approve marriage equality? it's now in the hands of lawmakers. what's next in the fight for marriage equality in illinois? joining us now co-sponsor of the bill illinois state representative greg harris. sir, it's great to have you here. you said that you have this on the fast track and that it will pass, so what is the latest on the efforts and how quickly will the people of illinois see this come to fruition through a vote?
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>> there will be thousands of very happy loving couples across the state of illinois who will be celebrating their weddings very soon. >> it's very interesting to point out that this does have a support across the aisle there in illinois from republicans, the chair of the state's republican party, pat brady, that has written that giving gay and lesbian couples. however, pat brady is really getting some blowback from people on the right. has that tainted his standing on this at all, or something sd that make you fear that there will be a problem getting this through? >> no. i'm just very glad that not only our leading democrats, the governor, the mayor of the city of chicago are behind this, but leading republicans across the
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state, including chairman brady, and i just applaud him for standing up and doing the right thing and saying that under the law we should treat all people equally and fairly. >> i want to get this on. the national organization of marriage president brian brown has written in regard to this that any republican in illinois who betrays the cause of marriage will be casting a career-ending vote and will be held accountable for their -- the national -- they seem to lose their relevance with every state that institutes marriage equality. are politicians listening to that threat there? >> they've made the threat in all the other states that have marriage equality, and that threat has always turned out to be rather hollow. i think the people of illinois need to know that casting this vote is the right thing. it's what folks want both down state in the suburbs and the city of chicago. this is where the american populous is. the polls show it. you read that, you know, every major newspaper in the state of illinois has endorsed marriage equality. it's the right thing do do. >> illinois state representative
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greg harris, representative harris, great to have you on. thank you, sir. >> thank you, sir. >> absolutely. that's going to wrap things up for me. thanks for joining me. have a great weekend. don't go anywhere. now with alex wagner comes your way next. legal matters? maybe you want to incorporate a business. or protect your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like the help of an attorney. at legalzoom a legal plan attorney is available in most states with every personalized document to answer questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected. i'm also a survivor of ovarian a writand uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. symptoms are not the same for everyone. i got sick...and then i got better.
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hi victor! mom?
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i know you got to go in a minute but this is a real quick meal, that's perfect for two! campbell's chunky beef with country vegetables, poured over rice! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right. just how much of the nation wants insane gun laws is indeed a matter of debate? a majority of americans or an overwhelming majority of americans? it is friday, january 11th, and this is "now." joining me today former deputy white house press secretary and, wait for it, it's coming, bill, money bunny for the obama campaign. >> still. >> bill burton of priorities usa action. nbc news political analyst, former pennsylvania governor and current governor of

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